Sunday, March 20, 2011

So the guy from the movie company came to look at our house on Monday afternoon. It was really interesting to hear what he had to say and see what he was looking at in our house. First he sat down and talked with us for about a half hour, let us know what kinds of things we would have to put up with if they chose to use our house. Sounds like it would be a pain in the neck! He said that it would probably take about 15 days to do all the arranging and filming, and we would have to move out for that period of time. One week on each end for changing the furniture, painting, etc. They'd put us up in a hotel, but I don't know, living in a hotel for three weeks doesn't sound that great to me. The biggest problem for us and them would be the fact that one of the scenes is supposed to be a dinner party. Our house is strictly kosher, so anything they brought in would have to be marked on the package as kosher or from a kosher caterer. That means no pig, the meat has to have been killed a certain way, no shellfish, no mixing of meat and milk, and some other requirements. It would be a big pain for them to work around all of those requirements. They do offer payment, $1000 a day that they work in the house, $500 for days they have their stuff here but aren't working. When you think of how much they'd push up the electric bill, that probably isn't very much.

He also said that there is some possibility of having a background role - you know, the kind where you say "that's my right ear!" Which would be fun, but I don't know if it would be worth the annoyance of not being in my house for three weeks. Since I don't have many reasons to leave the house, being stuck in a hotel would be kind of annoying. And the date they are thinking about filming is right before Memorial Day weekend, so we wouldn't be able to BBQ for the holiday.

After he told us about the requirements, he went around the house and took pictures of every room. I was a little embarrassed when he took pictures of my room because it's such a mess! He liked our house though and said they'd get back to us within a few days if it seemed like it would work out for them. We haven't heard anything back yet, and my guess is that with our kosher restrictions it would be too much of a pain for them to use our house. But it's exciting that they thought about using it! I'll let you guys know what they tell us. It is kind of neat to think that our house could be in a movie! Even though I'm pretty sure we'll say no, it's a fun thought.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

We found a note in our mailbox on Wednesday from a production company saying that they were looking at houses like ours to potentially use in two scenes in a film that they'll be shooting in this area. It would be a professor's house and used for two party scenes. They're coming out tomorrow afternoon to look at our house and see if it will work for what they need!

... which means we need to clean everything so that it looks halfway acceptable!

I'm not sure how I feel about our house being chosen for filming. It might be a huge pain in the butt. What if they make us move out for a week? Or if the filming takes a really long time? But it might be really fun too, and I might get to meet celebrities! I guess we'll see what they say tomorrow. I'll keep you posted!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

I'd been planning to make a trip to France this spring, and now I don't know if I'll be able to because of all the classwork I have and my limited mobility. I'm taking three, soon to be four, online classes before my masters starts at the end of June. Two of the classes have definite end dates, but the other two can be completed over the course of six months. Right now I'm not sure when I'll be done with them. There's so much work for these classes! They're only ten "units" but each unit is a lot of reading and answering of questions. And they have final exams! I should be buying tickets now so that I don't have to pay an arm and a leg, but I just don't know if I'll have time before the masters starts.

France is slowly slipping away from me. The problem with having time to visit isn't going to get any better when I enroll in the masters and hopefully, eventually, get a real job. It makes me sad. I loved my time in France, but I love my time at home too. I know if I visit for a couple of weeks it would be so hard to leave again, but if I were going back for an extended period of time, it would be hard to leave. Not to mention the fact that I did not like my transplant specialist in Paris. Going back for an extended period of time seems very unlikely. Nothing is set in stone yet about my travel availability, but it looks pretty unlikely for this spring, and the longer it gets between visits, the less likely they become.

Can I push pause on my classes for a couple of weeks and go to France? Please?